| Notes |
- The Blakelys merit attention, in the first place, as one of the oldest families in Athol. The pioneer came originally from Scotland, and that, he prided himself on the land which gave him birth was proclaimed by his continuing to wear the kilt, first in Ireland and then in Canada, where the kiltie regiments have, in more modern times, made the garment popular as a military dress. Somewhere in the closing years of the eighteenth century, he moved to the north of Ireland, where he married a woman of Irish birth - Ann Keogh - and we find blended in their descendants, those traits of tenacity and energy which have characterised the Scotch-Irish race throughout its history.
At what precise period he left Ireland for America is not known, but having settled, as far as can be learned, in Massachusetts, he joined the British army at an early period of its ill fated struggle with the Revolutionists, and so distinguished himself as to rise before the close of the war to the rank of colonel. When the war was over he retired to his home, but was not permitted to remain there. It is told of him, that an attempt being made at this time to take him prisoner, he hid himself while his wife watched for his safety. There is a horn, now in the possession of the family, made from a fine specimen of large sea shell, on which his faithful spouse blew a blast as a signal for him to remain in seclusion. And soon the Colonel with his wife, and their seven children, the youngest being then seven years old, removed to Montreal, and thence to Kingston, where he recieved an appointment from the British Government to keep what was called "the King's store". While at Kingston, though well known on the other side of Lake Ontario as a U.E. Loyalist, an effort was made to bribe him to return, by offering him property. But his loyalty was not to be bought, nor was he to be hoodwinked to his own destruction.
When he was retired from his appointment as keeper of the King's store at Kingston, he came to Picton. Picton, he found to be a hemlock swamp, infested with mosquitoes. Not liking that neighborhood, he struck an Indian trail which brought him to the shores of East lake, where he bought the farm now owned by Benjamin F. and William S. Blakeley, his great grandsons, and occupied by the former. When he pitched his tent at Athol, he must have been in possession of considerable means; circumstantial evidence to this effect is afforded by an incident which transpired soon after his arrival. He had left a coat hanging in a shed, and found, when he next required it, that mice had made a nest in one of the pockets in which he had left six hundred dollars in bills. James Blakely continued to prosper, until at his death two thousand acres of rich land were bequeathed to his family.
He died December 25th, in his 84th year, and his wife on January 13th, of the same year, aged seventy. Three of his sons did three years' service in connection with the British Army at Halifax. The present dweller on the homestead treasures many valuable family heirlooms. Among those is the horn above referred to, which did the Blakely family such good service; the dress sword of the Colonel' one of his epaulets; a pair of pinchbeek candlesticks; a miniature barrrel which served to carry a ration of wiskey on the march; and last, but not least, a wonderfully carved powder-horn, bearing the date 1761.
The Pioneer's grandson, William B. Blakely, was a councillor in the township of Athol, and in his place moved the resolution to abolish the license of intoxicants in the district. This was carried, and many imagined the Council had seen the last of William B.; but, as the event proved, this bold stroke gave him a long lease of office, he was elected by acclamation for ten consecutive years thereafter, and was also appoinited License Inspector for the county. He was justice of the Peace in Athol for twenty years; and, as a member of the Methodist church, recording steward for over thirty years; a position now held by his son, Wm. S. Blakely. He was Captain of the Athol militia reserve for a number of years, and was only prevented from serving in '37 by a fall from his horse in which he seriously injured one of his knees.
Benjamin F. eldest son of William Blakely, who now resides on the old homestead, with his brother William S., owns a cheese factory which has carried the fame of Canada back to the country whence the Colonel came. It is one of the largest factories of the kind in Canada, and was operated first by a joint stock comany. It passed successively into the hands of four or five persons, under whom it had a measure of prosperity, but nothing like the success which has attended its present ownership and management during the past eleven years. Its present output is from fifty to fifty-five thousand dollars' worth of cheese per annum. Benjamin F. Blakely has been a Justice of the Peace for seven, and a councillor for three years. Elgin A., another brother, was Deputy Minister of Education for Manitoba for twelve years, and resigned to become Provincial Manager of the Continental Life Insurance Company at Winnipeg. Augusta C. a sister, is Lady Superintendent of the Victorian Order of Nurses, Yorktown, N.W.T.
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1730 - 1814 (84 years)
